CLEMSON — Jacob Burns is about to make his third trip to Clemson since the spring.

The three-star offensive lineman, out of Rabun Gap (GA), first visited for the Underclass Experience in March. The Tigers had a number of high-level prospects from the 2027 class that weekend, and it was a visit that made an impression on Burns.

“I went to Clemson for the Underclass Experience and checked it out,” Burns told The Clemson Insider. “It was the first time I was there and I loved it. I had a pretty good time. It really put them pretty high on my board.”

Offensive line coach Matt Luke then made a trip to catch him in action during the evaluation period before Burns returned to Clemson in June to work out at camp.

“I feel like I performed real well,” Burns said. “It was a lot of indy stuff and stuff like that, and I feel like I did a really good job. Coach Luke, I really liked how he coached. I really liked his coaching style. After, he took us in, showed us around, and we were chilling in the recovery room. Just hanging out. I have never seen anything like that in my life. Where I came from, they don’t have that kind of stuff.”

Originally from Canada, Burns has moved around some and he currently resides with his grandparents. This will be his first season at Rabun Gap. He previously played at Marion Tabor Academy in Massachusetts.

Since Clemson has gotten involved, assistant offensive line coach Carson Cramer has been the coach he’s heard from the most, although Burns has had some conversations with Luke as well. Those discussions have proven to be fruitful, with Luke telling him there is only one more box that needs to be checked before an offer is extended.

“He told me, ‘I really think you could play at Clemson. I think you check all of our boxes,'” Burns said of Luke. “He said he thinks I can play and that I am a good person, and stuff like that, and he told me the only thing that was holding him back from offering me is that he hasn’t really met my family yet.”

Burns will return to campus this weekend when the fourth-ranked Tigers open the season against ninth-ranked LSU. This is the first time Burns will be on hand for a Top 10 showdown.

“I am excited to go to the game,” he said. “Watch some good football. A Top 10 matchup. It is going to be really cool. I have never been to a game like that.”

Burns already has more than two dozen offers, including Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee and Texas A&M. With Clemson being one of the schools he watched a lot of growing up, it’s an offer from the Tigers he is looking to add to that list.

“It is just the family aspect of it,” Burns said. “They really care about you. You are not just a number to them. They graduate almost all of their players. That is a big thing for me because no one in my family has gone to college. I want to be the first one to graduate. I feel like Clemson is a place I could really grow. They have a really good culture, and it is not just about football.”

And that offer could potentially shoot Clemson up to the top of his list.

“An offer from Clemson would put them at the top of my board,” Burns said. “It would mean a lot. It would be kind of like a dream come true. The teams I have watched were Bama, Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma. So it would be really cool. That is a school I could really see myself ending up at.”

Photo courtesy of Dawson Powers